Ask Flashpoint Dantooine Nightfall Over Dantooine

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn's return to Dantooine was not particularly sweet. He'd never actually been here when he was a Jedi, but it was his third time being here as a Sith. And Imperial vessels now roamed the sky with fighters streaking back and forth above. He looked up to see a Pugio-class frigate floating lazily overhead as the Jedi made his way into the Imperial base and toward the hangar that would serve as tonight's briefing room.

Only recently, the Warmaster had been assassinated at this very base, and that meant vengeance was coming. A larger contingent of Sith and Imperials had been sent to the planet to finally flush out the remaining rebels with extreme prejudice.

General Raisthon had set to work preparing operations all across the planet without delay. IAC shock troopers had hit bases and outposts all across the planet, capturing and killing over two hundred resistance troops in the last week alone. Some teams ran two to three rapid raids per night, and the results had been... well, Varyn had to admit, they'd been impressive. But the resistance was getting wise, and after one of last night's raids had turned into an ambush on Imperial troopers that cost almost a full squad, the IAC Commander had requisitioned additional support.

Varyn and another Champion had both been assigned to assist with tonight's raid. Reportedly they'd be working alongside a half-platoon of troops to raid and destroy a relay tower the rebels had been using for their broadcasts offworld. Intel reported it was "not" heavily fortified, but Varyn knew how far intel really got people.

With his own custom IAC armor on and his lightsaber swinging from his belt, he'd arrived at the staging area for the briefing. As Champions, he and his partner would technically be the ranking officers on the operation, but he knew well how the IAC sergeants - the real squad leaders - could be if they decided to be stubborn. Varyn hoped it wouldn't be the case tonight. They were professionals, after all.

Commander Clarel had come to brief the operation personally, but Varyn saw no sign of the man yet, so instead he set to looking for the other Sith. Please don't be a psycho, he thought to himself.

 

[Altair Din]

There were several others that advised him against returning to Dantooine. Hell, several of the women that broke him out of prison were very vocal about it. However, Altair had made up his mind. As soon as he was cleared to get back in the field, he was at it again. He couldn’t deny there was fury in his heart from what happened to him and a deep desire for retaliation. He had been given the IAC briefs and news of the latest ambush. As someone that had been ambushed himself, that detail hit close to home.

Altair was easy to pick out with his trademark horned helmet and custom made armor. The tieling made his way over towards Varyn. He heard of the guy before and he was certainly moving up the ranks like he was. His mind was focused on the mission at hand - he was determined to pull it off this time without any other mishaps.

He came to stand across Varyn, giving him a curt nod, “Atrix,” He greeted, “Champion Din,” he said simply. Varyn would immediately recognize him as the one that had been ambushed and had briefly been a POW until multiple Sith massacred the prison to get him out.

Within moments, Commander Clarel came over to join them. He had his helmet on, but Altair had no doubt the man was a bit of a skeptic - most of them were of Sith meddling in their affairs. He saluted them both.

“Commander Clarel,” He announced himself, “I understand you two have been assigned to help run this raid,” He looked at them both, “The insurgents use guerrilla tactics which make it hard to track their movements. We’ve gone in with heavy firepower, but they always sabotage our tanks and vehicles. They’ve rigged the terrain so our machines don’t have a clear linear path ahead.”

“Have we captured any of their own?” Altair asked.

“No,” Clarel shook his head, “All dead. They use makeshift explosives and there are still some Jedi involved.”

“I recommend we move with only fireteams and run a covert operation to take one of their signal towers if we know where any are located. Overwhelming them with firepower will not eradicate them. By now I trust we have a vague mapping of their comms locations?” Altair glanced over at Varyn, “Atrix, do you agree or disagree with the strategy?”

 

[Varyn Atrix]

The horns were a pretty good give away to Varyn who he was meeting, but he didn't comment on it. He hadn't expected Din to be quite so... business-like. He supposed it shouldn't surprise him now that he had met him. The other man was a whirling of emotion, most of which seemed to be negative. The exact details of his capture weren't something that Varyn had found out about, but he'd heard a rumor it had been on Dantooine. Maybe it made sense, then.

Of course, the Imperial Commanders had a reputation for being all-business as well, particularly when it pertained to working with Sith. Plenty of officers didn't like having the Force-users messing in their business.

He gave a polite nod toward Din as he introduced himself and then Varyn listened to the exchange between the Commander and Din. He nodded several times as he thought about what they were up against. It was just another puzzle... a challenge to overcome.

We can move in on foot with one fireteam and the other squad can provide overwatch, he suggested. After we secure the tower, air support wouldn't go amiss to deal with anyone coming or going and to clean up anything else we find, he said. It wasn't unusual for the IAC to have ample access to air support, but each operation was different.

We keep a Flight of Aquiliae on standby loaded for danger close operations in conjunction with each of our raids, he said.

Good, he said. It wasn't as much firepower as he might have hoped, but it certainly wasn't nothing. It could easily smite any vehicles or enemies that might have been coming to overwhelm them or fleeing the attacking force.

Do we have technical specialists to tap into the comm tower? Track incoming and outgoing signals before we take it out? he asked. Varyn knew his own limitations, and he knew he wasn't a slicer. While their goal may have been to blow the tower, downloading the data would certainly help in rooting out other strongholds. It occurred to Varyn just how easily he was slipping into actually helping the Imperials. Sure, he was undercover and it was his job, but there was something about this... it was thrilling.

Each fireteam has a technical specialist who will be able to obtain access to their systems and transmit data back to the ISA, he said in answer to Varyn's question.

Lieutenant Palo is leading a different raid tonight, so leading the two squads will fall on the two of you. I expect you both not to disregard the NCOs on the team. They have more experience than both of you combined, he said. It wasn't quite "hostile" but the message was clear: don't get his squads killed or there would be consequences.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was silent throughout the exchange, but he got everything he needed. His jaw tightened a bit at the Commander’s last little commentary, “There should be no problems if the NCOs do their job,” He threw back, his helmet angled to gaze at the Commander in silence. The man knew better than to continue the exchange and saluted once more before withdrawing. Altair stared after him for a moment.

“Always a joy workin’ with these fucks,” He muttered loud enough for Varyn to hear. The slight twang of his accent and dialogue would allow the other Champion a glimpse into Altair’s personality. He began to walk until he came across the fireteams assigned to them both.

“All right, everyone, we move out on foot,” He turned to look at the remaining squad, “Sargeant Dolov, you’ll be providing cover with your squad. We'll all be on channel 8 for comms.”

With that, Altair began to make his way towards the known location of the signal tower. From the read on his datapad, it wasn’t exactly easy to spot and was inside some dense forestry. They would have to rely on hand signals with the soldiers as they got closer, but he and Varyn could communicate telepathically.

“They will have boobytrapped the terrain on the path to the tower,” Altair explained quietly to Vayrn, “I know terrain, so let me scout ahead a bit,” He said before he stepped forth, “Cover me,” He called out as he went ahead and examined the ground. Almost at once he could see the beginning of a trail that led into some dense woods and forests. The tiefling crouched down, brushing aside some loose leaves to reveal a mine.

“I need a metal detector and a GPR,” He said as he rose up, one of the soldiers bringing him what he asked. Between the radar and detection, Altair could identify and pick out where the terrain had mines. He began to see larger concentrations of them, carefully and gingerly stepping around them, “We’re getting close,” He whispered into his comms, “Stay alert and watch your step.”

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn watched as the Commander left, and it was just the two Sith alone. He hadn't expected the comment from Din moments later, but it earned a small snort.

Yeah... he muttered and headed out toward the troopers. It was a real mixed bag. Sometimes they were all right, but more often than not, they were prickly at best.

Varyn swapped his comm over to the right channel and they started moving out in short order after a few introductions.

Corporal Yarm didn't look much older than Varyn, probably only in his early twenties, and he was giving the Sith the stink-eye already. He was a bit glad that his own helmet concealed his age. It sometimes helped more than when they could see that he was still only nineteen.

Varyn gave a quiet nod. My helmet has thermals. It'll give me a good idea if anyone's sneaking up on us, he said. Not to mention the Force was a great sixth sense for that. The fact that hand signals hadn't been mentioned aloud meant that Varyn didn't even know to object to their use... you know, because outside of pointing at things, his sign language was mostly nonexistent.

He reached down and eased the saber hilt off of his belt as they advanced. His eyes swept over the area ahead of him. He could see some animals around them in the darkness, a herd of deer from the look of it. They had settled in to nest for the night and they seemed to smell the approaching Imperials.

They got up and started running all at once, and then the forest ahead turned into the fourth of July. Every single one of the six deer in the pack hit a mine as they started running. Every. Single. One. Varyn wondered how in the stars they'd managed to make it in here in the first place.

Fortunately, they were far enough away that the explosions didn't pose a direct threat to the team, but the element of surprise was pretty much gone now.

Are... you... kidding me.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair could have been as quiet as a mouse and done all sorts of hand signals. But nothing prepared him to deal with a herd of fucking deer. He barely managed to leap backwards and use the Force to send the group of Imperials backwards to keep them all from blowing up as well. The mines caused loud explosions and somewhere a tree caught ablaze and fell over. The forestry ahead of them ignited into flames.

He landed somewhere next to Varyn on the ground from the collective aftershock, coughing, “Well at least all the mines are fucking triggered now,” He said bitterly as he peeled himself off. He extended a hand to yank Varyn to his feet. The tiefling looked around, raising his hand to do a series of gestures. The others did the same back “All right, we didn’t lose anyone,” Altair said as they kept moving.

Before he could advance, blaster bolts rang out. Altair quickly hand gestured about incoming fire to avoid yelling and giving away their position, “We have to scatter,” He spoke to Varyn telepathically, leading his fireteam off to the side. From the amount of firepower coming their way, the comms tower was guarded much heavier than originally believed.

An explosion hit a tree near him, sending him on his ass and the trooper next to him dead. It was an RPG and he could still hear the ringing in his ears. Smoke began to plume their way, making visibility and breathing far more difficult. The fire would completely make thermal vision useless and he switched instead to using Force sight in an attempt to make out enemies.
“Three of them on my 12,” He said in between coughs. One of the Imperials leveled and fired his rifle, taking out at least two of them. Altair took out the last by coiling the Force and slamming the rebel into a tree.

“We have to keep advancing!” He called out, still unable to see anyone clearly.

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn took the offered hand, having to call his saber hilt back to his hand and then flip his thermal visions back off. He didn't need it anymore now that things were glowing...

Blaster fire came down next and Varyn's fireteam started returning fire immediately. It was quite evident now that they were outgunned, and he wondered if this was another ambush. No time to worry about it now, however.

Sergeant Dolov, weapons free. Light up that tower and get some of this pressure off of us, he ordered over the comm. In the distance, the blasters started opening up, peppering the tower with fire and drawing off some of the heat from the forward squad. No one really... hit anyone, but that wasn't really the point.

Move, move, move! he shouted into the comm, hoping the squad and Altair would be able to make it forward while the tree he was hiding behind got shredded by blaster fire... way more quickly than he was hoping.

He reached out with the Force, using it to create a current of air that carried the smoke up and over the heads of the troops. Hopefully it would obscure the troops and cause the rebels to choke. In the event that it did fall on the troops, at least he knew that filters were a part of IAC standard armor.

 

[Altair Din]

Everyone was disoriented and it was difficult to focus. He could see nothing but thick smoke and fire. Unlike the others, the heat didn’t bother him, but he knew the Imperials were having a tough time. He glanced up to see what Varyn was doing, nodding at the nifty trick, “Good thinking!” He commed Varyn as he used the Force to do the same, providing them some more cover. Unfortunately, their enemies had explosives that resulted in a lot of splash damage which still put them at risk.

Altair kept pressing ahead with his men, getting tossed aside like a ragdoll once more as another explosive hit near them. The tiefling coughed and wheezed, peeling himself off the ground again. He tapped into their comms, “I’m down to two men!” He yelled, “We need to change tactics! We have to capture one of the rebels! Taking the tower is pointless since we’ve been compromised! Their main base will know!”

The tiefling coughed a few times before he tapped into Force Sight once more, spotting figures in the distance. He coiled the Force around them to yank them into the lakes of fire. However, further past that he could see a lone figure running away from the building ahead. Anyone running away or noncombative was likely a SIGINT civilian supporting comms intelligence.

“ATRIX! YOUR TWO O’CLOCK RAPIDLY RETREATING! CAPTURE!” Altair shouted at the top of his lungs before focusing back on the combatants. He charged ahead, using the Force as his ranged weapon to bring down the soldiers they encountered. Altair knew they would have to fall back as soon as they managed to capture the civilian - if they could.

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn had thought his smoke idea was very clever, but he hadn't accounted for indiscriminate detonations that wiped out almost his entire fireteam before they ever made it near the building. They hadn't been his greatest friends, but they had been fighting alongside him, having his back... his responsibility.

Watching their bodies shattered into multiple pieces caused an anger to well up in him that had been too easy to slip into recently. For a moment, everything slowed down as he watched the dying men squirming around on the ground just ahead of him. He felt almost sick and no amount of deep breathing put it aside.

He turned to the man fleeing into the night, and tore off after him. He barely even knew what was going on anymore as he bodily slammed into the man. Armored body vs unarmoed body, the tackle hit the man hard, and Varyn brought his fist down repeatedly into the man's face.

He spat blood from his mouth as Varyn half-dragged him back and opened the comms.

I've got him. Call in the fighters, smoke the whole tower when you're clear! he shouted into his comm at Altair. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was the whispering voices of Ziost, or maybe it was something else, but he was just operating on instinct now, and tactical instinct told him to destroy the whole thing and bring it down around the heads of the rebels.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair saw Varyn all but truck the man that was fleeing, the sight bringing him a sense of relief. He was about to call for a temporary retreat when Varyn’s voice came in. The tiefling was about to counter and reject the idea, but he paused. He gave it more thought, pausing right there in the middle of the chaos that whirled around him as he stood in the mouth of Hell.

He was hit with the deaths of his men, the reality reverberating through his skin, through flesh and right down to the bone. They lay in pieces near him, having shielded him from damage. How many others would die while he lived? His jaw tightened and he had flashes of the Dantooine ambush played in his mind. He thought of the rebels that ganged up on him, that killed all his comrades, that joked about sawing off his horns and tail as souvenirs. He thought of his time in the prison and solitary where he was starved and had rebels actually attempt to saw the horns off. His nostrils flared and he felt rage pulse through him, his blood molten lava that burned hotter than the forest.

“Affirmative,” He commed back, his voice ice as he commed for a strike, “Extract intelligence from the captive.”

​

Theme​

Altair said nothing more - he would leave it to Varyn to creatively get whatever information needed. The tiefling used the Force to create a protective bubble to allow him and the two men passage. Thankfully he only needed it sporadically to cross certain junctures until the building came into view. The three stormed in after Altair tore the doors right off the hinges. There were civilian operatives still sheltering, but he didn’t care.

“No survivors,” Altair commanded. The Imperials peppered the room with bolts. The tiefling engaged the remaining soldiers in the meantime, barreling into them and goring another with his helmet. He didn't hold back, unleashing a volley of lightning at another soldier until the stench of burning, sizzling flesh erupted throughout the room. He gathered some equipment before he strode out of the building along with his two men. He knew there were people hiding in the lower levels, and he didn't care. Within moments, there was a thunderous explosion as the fighters fired their canons and eradicated the building.

Meanwhile, back with Varyn the civilian wheezed and spat out more blood. He glared at Varyn, “Fuck you, Sith,” He said, “I’m not gonna talk. I hope you all burn in this forest. I hope you hear the screams of your people as they burn. Hail to the Rebellion,” While he talked, he fidgeted with one hand to reach for a small pistol on his hip. If he retrieved it, he would quickly attempt to point it upwards into his chin and off himself.

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn looked up to see the building detonate in spectacular fashion. Laser cannons and concussion missiles rained down on the building, turning it into absolute slag as soon as the Sith had cleared. Even at this distance and through his armor, he could feel the heat. He could feel the death bleeding into the Force, and he could feel the burning hatred in the man under him.

In that moment, he realized something: it was all the same. The Jedi ran their armies and those armies were as filled with animosity and hatred as the Imperial armies. The men who'd died here tonight, nothing separated them but a uniform. Who the kriff cared!? The blackness poured out of the man in front of him, and he was just as dark and filled with hatred as any Sith Varyn had met.

It's all the same. We all die. There is no death, there's the Force. He caught the man's arm with the pistol still in it and his fist came down again. And again. And again. He didn't know how many times he hit him, but enough times that his grip on the pistol loosened, he was unconscious, and blood poured from his face in multiple areas. He was alive, but barely.

The young man stood up, switching off his comlink swore at the top of his lungs, throwing the pistol into the darkness in front of him. Fire lit the sky around him, but for him there was nothing but darkness.

WHY!? he screamed at the man on the ground, but... well, the man was unconscious. He was breathing heavily, tears streaming down his face as he looked at the man on the ground. His eyes looked back to the fire and then the man. He just... stood there for a long few moments before finally moving again.

He pawed through the man's belongings, scavenging what he could from the man's comlink and datapad. It would do.

He flipped his comlink back on and made his way back to the others, leaving the man to his fate in the fields.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair had dropped a rendezvous marker for everyone to rally at a short distance away from the base. It allowed a moment for them all to catch their breath and lick their wounds. The tiefling took his helmet off and was seated around the two Imperials. He sat on a log across his men. They had expressed surprise at his appearance at first, especially upon realizing how young he was, but they swiftly moved on. There was no time for discrimination in an active war zone.

“This was gonna be Rosco’s last raid,” One of the men said as he took his helmet off, staring at the ground. He wiped the sweat off his brow, “Said he wanted to get back for the birth of his kid,” The man sighed, looking down at his palm that he opened to reveal the dog tags he collected.

The other man said nothing, also taking his helmet off as he lit a cigarra and puffed on it. He offered one to Altair. The tiefling began to shake his head no, but in the end he reached for one and ignited it. He never smoked tobacco and he coughed a few times before he adjusted. However, out here it was the best he was going to get.

“Dantooine is surrounded by Sith space. These people should know when they’re conquered,” The smoking man said as he spat at the ground.

“Would you, Stov?” Altair as quietly as he closed his eyes and blew out a plume of smoke through his nostrils, “...Would I?”

There was a long moment of silence until Varyn joined them. Altair didn’t move to get up, glancing at the Champion, “Did you get anything useful? We’ll need it to strategize on the base.”

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn arrived back at the camp and said nothing as he arrived. Everything inside of him felt numb and he just wanted... he didn't know what he wanted. He wanted someone to lean on.

Din asked him a question and he looked at him for a moment before responding. He wasn't in a position to answer a lot of questions, he said, not expanding further. They'd probably assume the man had been killed, and... he still might be.

But I got these, he said, reaching into his belt and pulling out the comlink and datapad. He handed them off to one of the techies from the squad.

He didn't have time to clean them off, so I'm guessing there's plenty we can glean from them, he said before moving over and taking a heavy seat against one of the trees next to Altair.

His eyes swept over the clearing, taking note of who was and wasn't there. Almost half of their men had been killed in a single night, and they'd killed how many? Four times that many with the air strikes? Command would classify it as as success, but it felt to Varyn like a catastrophic kriffing failure.

There were a few minutes at least before the slicer got to the data, and Varyn couldn't still his mind. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how he looked for the Light, there was nothing. He was consumed by a darkness that wouldn't let up, and now he wondered if it even mattered.

They fight tooth and nail to kill us, and why? What'd they even get out of this? he said quietly. He looked over at Altair, but he didn't expect him to have any answers either. It was war, and war was what it had always been. The Jedi fooled themselves into thinking they had the higher ground, but when boots hit the ground, there was no higher ground, was there?

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was silent as more soldiers came to join them, including a slicer. It would be several minutes before they got any useful data. The tiefling gazed ahead when Varyn spoke, his purple hues still burning with simmering rage from earlier. Altair scoffed a bit at Varyn as he tilted his head to look at him.

“Not startin’ to think we’re the good guys, are ya, Atrix?” He asked with a bitter laugh before taking another long drag from the cigarra. It wasn’t a habit he intended to pick up, but damn it felt nice right now, “There ain’t no good guys in this story. Not the Sith, not the Jedi either. The rebels are fanatics under a Jedi Master that’s a zealot. They follow her principles blindly because it gives ‘em a cause to rally behind.”

The tiefling exhaled smoke again, “I’d say they have more cause for this than we do,” He shrugged vaguely, surprised at his own words. He could tell some of the Imperials were bristling at it too, but it didn’t make it less true. Altair gave Varyn a tired smile.

“You’re pretty all right, man,” He reached over and clapped him lightly on the shoulder, “The smoke cover was some quick thinking. Which academy were you trained at? I don’t think I ever seen you before, but I saw your name come up across a few mission reports.”

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn didn't immediately respond, but he couldn't argue with at least one thing that Altair said: there were no good guys here. He found himself wondering what the point even was. And what did it all mean for him going forward?

I dunno, was all he could muster. It was an underwhelming response, but after what they'd just been through, he didn't have the energy to wax philosophical. It wasn't a holomovie where everything was pretty. He didn't miss the looks from the other Imperials about Altair's comment, but... it wasn't wrong.

Thanks, you did good work, too, he said, though it didn't feel like a win after their losses.

Varyn, he offered after a moment. I had a master who was killed at Denon. Got folded into Taris Academy after that, he said. He was aware of Taris's reputation, but he also knew that having a personal master - even if it was just a cover - bought him at least a bit of additional credibility.

You? he asked. Dromuund Kaas? You know Vahl, right? he asked, making his guess off of that fact.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair chuckled bitterly as Varyn mentioned he did well as well, “Ain’t over yet,” He said as he drew in another drag of cigarra. He looked over when the Champion introduced himself as his first name, saying nothing at first, “Altair,” He responded after a few seconds. Killed at Denon? That was interesting. Denon always fascinated the tiefling, and he would have to remind himself to ask Varyn a bit more about that.

The tiefling nodded in response to his question, “Yeah… well, it was Kaas. Now I’m in temp housing. I’m just waiting to see if I got into the academy I applied for,” Altair’s tail twitched from nervousness at the anticipation of admissions, “I know Vahl,” He said with a smile, perking up at the mention of her, “She’s one of my closest buds from when I first joined the Sith,” He lingered on the thought briefly. It had been a few years now and he didn’t even realize when that time flew by, “Though her temp housing is nicer than mine,” He chuckled, shaking his head. He doubted she had to share a room with six other people. Altair was packed in with six smelly boys in what barely qualified as soldiers barracks.

“You know Ailis if you’re at Taris?” He asked curiously. He hadn’t seen Ailis in a long time and a part of him still missed her quite a bit.

After a few more minutes, the slicer finally cleared his throat, “I think I got something,” He said, turning his datapad around to show them what he had uncovered.

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn's mood lightened a bit at the mention of Vahl as well. The fact that she and Altair were friends was also a friend. Friend of my friend and all that. The other Sith seemed like the kind of guy Varyn could have gotten along with well.

He nodded at the discussion of Dromuund Kaas... yeah, that wasn't a topic he wanted to linger on, and he thought of the officers and overseers he had helped assassinate. Assassinate. it wasn't being on the battlefield, and... well, he wasn't sure he felt bad about it, but it seemed to fly in the face of what a lot of Jedi preached... except when it was convenient.

Of course it is, he said with a chuckle and shake of his head. He popped his helmet off finally and breathed in the night air, mixed with the scent of cigarette smoke.

Yeah, we got sent to Denon together, actually, he said with an emphatic nod at the mention of Ailis. They'd gotten along well, but hadn't seen one another in a while now either. After, he clarified, indicating it was not when his master had been killed.

It was a real cluster, he said, shaking his head. That planet isn't my friend. Been a while now since we bumped into each other, though, he said.

Varyn sat up a bit straighter when news came that they had gathered intel. The trooper projected the data out into the space between the two Champions, and everyone started gathering around.

I was able to analyze the distribution of signals in the area, and I think I've actually pinpointed where their base is, he said. Varyn watched as a section of the planet blew up in view and hundreds of lines all stretched across the landscape. In the center was a singular point at which many of them converged.

You think that's the main point of operations on this sector? he asked, looking over at Altair.

We need to send this back to HQ. We're going to need more than a dozen of us for this, he said. This was a massive assault they were talking about and would require an appropriately sized force. For all he guessed, the commander himself would come out and lead the operation, but Varyn also had no doubt there would be a role for the pair of Sith.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair listened to the slicer, pondering on the information for a moment. He looked at Varyn when he spoke, nodding, “Likely,” He said, “The rebels know they’re cornered on all sides. This is prolly the last legit base they have,” Altair finished up the rest of his cigarra, making sure to fully stamp it out. He reached for his comlink, calling for additional backup, “We can get movin,” He said, “The reinforcements will meet us closer to base.”

The Imperials rose up and began to move again, thankful for the short break they had. Altair placed his helmet back on and fell into step by Varyn. They were a few paces behind the soldiers as he spoke, “How come you didn’t get into his head?” He asked quietly, curious about his handling of the captive, “You could’ve gotten faces and details. Not your thing?” Altair asked.

The tiefling personally didn’t meddle too much in mind manipulation with the Force, but he was perfectly capable of it. Not to mention, now they had no captive rebel to manipulate the other rebels with.

“The rebels will either scatter and abandon the base or hunker down,” Dolov called out from ahead of them, “Historically they do the former, but if this is their last real stand, we could have a real ugly fight on our hands…”

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn nodded and put his own helmet back on, pushing himself to his feet. Right now, he didn't want to think about the wider ramifications of anything, he found himself just wanting to keep the men next to him alive. For now, that would have to be enough.

They started walking and Varyn took another deep breath, trying to bring his mind back into focus when Altair spoke up.

He shook his head and sighed. Honestly, I was going to do... something like that, but he pulled a gun. By the time I'd dealt with that, I don't think I could have gotten much out of him, he said truthfully.

Besides, I don't know much about mind probe stuff, he said. It was true because the Jedi didn't teach that skill. Sure it was just a severe extension of mind trick, but Varyn didn't have any experience with shredding people's minds. Nor did he think he wanted it.

I'm a lot more of a... physically focused person. Swordsmanship and stuff, he said, thinking of how he hated the sorcery that he'd run into with Vex. It was all just... so contrary to him, but put a lightsaber in his hand and he was at home.

He heard Dolov's shout back a few moments later.

Then here's hoping it's the actual last of the fighting, he said. Whatever they fought for or why ever they fought, Varyn just wanted it to end.

You have a lot of tactical training? he asked Altair again. I've been deployed with troops several times, but didn't feel like I got a lot of actual... training in that stuff, he said. Sure, he'd taken a brief class at the academy, but it wasn't even close to enough.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair said nothing in response to Varyn’s explanation - it all made sense to him. A swordsman, huh? And he wasn’t too into mind stuff? The tiefling grinned, “So.. what happens if someone knocks the saber outta your hand?” He asked, amusement in his tone. He imagined most Sith would struggle a bit without a weapon and he considered himself at an advantage in that regard. However, he couldn’t deny that he sometimes wondered if he missed out by not learning more about the blade.

He pondered for a moment about his ‘training’, “To be honest, I learned mostly on the job,” He said, surprised at the realization, “I helped take Agamar and Ossus for the Sith. I dunno, when I’m in the zone I don’t think too much about it. You just gotta figure your shit out in the moment,” Altair looked over at Varyn as they walked, “You seemed pretty shaken when you came back from getting the info. Fucked up shit happens in the field and you ain’t got time to wonder if you’re the good guy or bad. Keep the battle on the battlefield. Don’t take it home with ya. Know what I’m sayin’?”

The group began to approach the base. The Sargent sent a probe droid ahead to stake out the perimeters. They were given a live feed through a datapad. Altair saw it and realized almost no heat signatures were being picked up.

“The hell…did they straight up abandon the base?” Altair asked, almost disappointed. While it was a relief, this meant two possibilities - either they scattered to bide their time or they legitimately abandoned base to find ways off the planet.

The tiefling glanced over at Varyn, “What do you think?”